Hiding in the Dark
by ThePokemonMage
Summary: He was told about the Midnight Man. He was told not to play the Midnight Man. But he played it anyway. Grovyle would regret it the second he started it. (human!AU. Slight onesided ActaeonShipping. Slash, boyxboy. Rated for warnings listed inside and my paranoia. Added chapter that's not required to read but whatever)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I decided to do a thing. An ActaeonShipping fic thing. With the Midnight Man ritual.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon and the Mystery Dungeons Spinoffs. I also did not create the ritual known as The Midnight Man. Though I did twist it a bit.**  
**Warning: Blood, paranormal stuff, language, and implied sadism/torture. **_**Bad touch alert, yo. **_**Slight onesided demonic!Dusknoir x Grovyle. Possible OOC. This is a modern human world AU.**

_**DO NOT PLAY MIDNIGHT MAN. SERIOUSLY. DO NOT PLAY IT.**_

* * *

_Grovyle tilted his head. "The what?"_

_"The Midnight Man," Wigglytuff finished. "Sounds fun right?_

* * *

He was an idiot. A fucking damn idiot.

Not even the most foolish dumbass would commit such an act, but he did, and he was a fool for doing so.

* * *

_"Basically you do some ritual stuff at midnight to summon this guy in your house and you walk around with a candle and you gotta survive until 3:33 AM!" Wigglytuff explained._

_"Really? Hrm," The greenette was intrigued. "Do you remember how to do this?"_

_"Not really, but it sounds cool, right?"_

_"Sounds dangerous..."_

_"And that makes it cool!"_

Why did he follow through with this?

_"So what happens if you fail?" Grovyle asked._

_"Well, you get tortured and die," Wigglystuff said nonchalantly._

_"Um...Okay..."_

_"But it's rather simple. If the Midnight Man catches you and blows out your candle, you gotta form this salt circle and stay in there until 3:33 AM!" Wigglytuff added. "You can tell if he's nearby if you feel a chill or hear something. So you better react fast once your candle goes out."_

_"Let me guess, if I don't; bam, I'm dead," Grovyle asked._

_Wigglytuff nodded. "Yup. And that's why it's highly reccomended you don't do it!"_

* * *

He was told not to do it, but he fucking did. He did the fucking game and he was so fucking dead.  
He should have listened but no. Nope. Nada. Nuh-uh. He ignored the warnings and acted foolishly.

* * *

_"So why are you telling me this?" Grovyle asked._

_"Just cause. It sounded like a cool conversation topic," Wigglytuff answered._

_"... Okay yeah. It was kinda coo,." Grovyle admitted._

_"But seriously. You don't want to try it. I almost did but I luckily had second thoughts," Wigglytuff stated. "And if you wanna attempt it, I hope you get second thoughts, too."_

* * *

He didn't. He had no second thoughts. Now here he was. Wandering his house, hand gripping a candle, another hand gripped some matches, a bag of salt attached to his belt, body shaking, completely afraid. The only sound was the clock ticking, his harsh breathes, and his feet stepping against a wooden floor. He wasn't sure what willed him to do the ritual, but he did. He pricked his finger, knocked on the door, yada yada, boom. He's now doing a crazy game.

Grovyle had so many regrets he survives but is scarred, or he dies a painful death. To be frank, he hated both outcomes. He wasn't sure what he was more afraid of; dying or spending a whole night awake with some creepy ghost-demon thing looking at you as you stay in a salt circle.

He nearly froze, feeling like something touched him. He waited for a while, but nothing happened. Sighing, Grovyle continued to trudge around his home.

_**"Hello."**_

He stopped in his tracks. "Shit."  
He looked around, hoping that he just imagined the voice. He was glad to see nothing.

"I am going insane..." He growled. "If I survive this, I am going kill Wigglytuff."

Shivering, he continued to wander around. He contemplating camping in one spot, or just creating the salt circle right now.

_**"Are you afraid?"**_

Grovyle nearly dropped his candle. Definitely didn't imagine that. "Damn it."

He took a match out, just in case, ready for his candle to go out.

_**"You are afraid, aren't you?"**_

Grovyle remained still, looking around. He felt something touch his shoulder, and quickly whirled around. No one was there. He slowly backed away before fleeing to the kitchen to contact Wigglytuff via home phone-No. No, no, no. He couldn't. Something bad will happen if he did, he just knows it. He was a goner. He was going to die playing a stupid ritual game when he was clearly warned not to. His stupid decision got him into this and he was going to die a painful death, he just knew it.

_**"Why do you keep running?"**_

_There's that voice again._ Grovyle shivered. _I didn't know this Midnight Man could talk to the players but he can. I wish Wigglytuff told me that. That info would have surely prevented me from playing this game._

_**"I said... Why. Do you. Keep. Running?!"**_

As soon as Grovyle's candle went out, he panicked. He quickly lit the match and relit his candle, swearing he heard laughter. He gulped, and breathed heavily when he saw that little flame appear. "Safe."

He craned his head around, and saw nothing. _Why is this guy talking to me?_

Shaking his head, he continued to walk around. He wasn't sure what time it was, but he was pretty sure it was nowhere near 3:33 AM. He contemplated going to the other rooms but feared he would be cornered there. However, he figured that standing around in one area would only make things worse, and went through with his plan. He treked to the guest room, his rapid beating heart slowing down ever so slightly...

Only to accelerate again once he felt something grip his shoulder.

_**"Are you going to stop running now?"**_

Grovyle was tempted to take a peek at the speaker, but was to afraid to move. He shivered, praying that this would end soon.

_**"Don't worry."**_

He had to run. He had to get away, but he couldn't. Something held him in place.

_**"I won't hurt you much."**_

He looked around but no one was there and holy fuck maybe not. He saw something. He fucking something move. It was in the shape of the human but there is no where it could be human.

_**"I'll take good care of you."**_

Run. Run, run, run.  
He had to fucking run and get out of here.

Daringly, he took off.

But something caught his leg, dragging him back. He was slammed into the wall, candle falling out of his hand. Luckily, his candle didn't go out and it even miraculously landed perfectly upright. And then it was picked up. Grovyle rubbed his head in pain, but then froze when he realized he wasn't alone. His entire body shook as the room turned cold. He stared at his visitor.

He was dressed entirely in black and gray. Pitch black hair covered one of his eyes, though that still doesn't change the fact that he had a red colored eye. He donned a black cape which flowed behind him despite the lack of wind. The man could have blended in with the environment had it not been for the candle which he flung in the air, causing the flame to turn black and the candle to float. The man smiled at the teen as he walked forward.

"Hello," He greeted. "I'm the Midnight Man, but you can call me Dusknoir."

Grovyle flinched, hugging his knees. _I'm dead. I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead!_

The Midnight Man grinned, flashing some fangs. He reached out, grabbing the boy's hair and roughly pulling him up. Grovyle yelped, clawing at the noirette.

"I really don't like it when my victims run, you know," Dusknoir drawled. "Especially when said victim is so... _Alluring._"

He chuckled, breathe ghosting along Grovyle's ear. "Tell me, why have you decided to play my game? Surely you know the consequences."

Grovyle only whimpered in reply, fighting back tears, resisting the urge to cry for help. The Midnight Man sighed as he pinned the teenager to the wall, towering above him.

"Are you going to answer me now?" He asked, a big grin plastered on his face.

Grovyle shrunk, wondering why he wasn't dead now. However, he figured that he may as well prolong his death. "I-I just wanted to see if y-you were real."

Dusknoir tilted his head, smiling. He leaned down so his mouth was just inches away from the teenager's ear. "Oh, I'm real alright. This isn't an illusion, this isn't a dream. I am standing right before you."

He gently caressed the boy's cheek, snickering at his flinching. "Well, I am glad that you decided to play. I must say, I have never encountered such a... _Lovely _player. You caught my interest the minute I entered your abode. I decided to have some fun with you. I rarely get the chance to mess with my players. Usually I stalk them and blow out their candle. And if they make the salt circle, I'll just watch them until they sleep or time is up. Nevertheless, I am glad that I caught you."

"A-Are you going to k-kill me?" Grovyle managed to ask.

"Maybe," Dusknoir replied, playing with the greenette's hair. "But rest assured, what I will do to you will be much better than death."

Before Grovyle could get a chance to ask, or run off, he felt teeth— no, fangs—sink into his neck. He cried out, trying to push the taller man away. He heard clothes, _his clothes_, being ripped. Peering down, he saw that Dusknoir had claws that were slowly tearing clothing open. Grovyle was about to swat the hand away but a free hand pinned his above his head.

"I suggest you stop, unless you want to die," Dusknoir growled, lapping up some blood.

"T-To be perfectly honest, I would rather die than—ghk!" Grovyle was cut off as a hand found its way clamped around his throat. Dusknoir let out a mirthful laugh.

"Are you so sure on that?" He released Grovyle's hands in favor of trailing his own down the teen's exposed chest. "I know that you would rather live than face whatever painful death I'll give you. Besides, this will feel great. _Trust me_."

The tips of his claws were barely grazing the teen's skin, causing him to shiver. He tried to pry the hand off his neck and to his surprise, the grip loosened and the hand lifted Grovyle's head up ever so slightly so that he was face-to-face with the paranormal being. He was greeted with a blood-red eye staring right at him, lips curved into a fanged smile. And then those lips were smashed against the greenette's. The teenager's reaction was instant. He tried once again to push Dusknoir away but soon found himself feeling sharp claws slash across his chest, causing him cry out, allowing Dusknoir to slip his tongue inside. Grovyle whimpered as he once again felt claws graze his skin. His hands clutched at the paranormal being's clothes, his entire body shaking in fear as Dusknoir wedged a knee between his legs. Grovyle shivered as Dusknoir finally pulled away. The paranormal figure simply chuckled, finally releasing the boy's neck in favor of running his hands up and down the lithe figure. The teenager only squirmed as a tongue found its way running up and down his neck before fangs just barely pricked skin.

Grovyle let out yelp as sharp nails dug into his skin, Dusknoir laughing in reply. He dragged his nails across the boy's chest, gently tracing patterns across skin, smirking at the reactions he received. He ghosted his breath over the teen's ear, absolutely in love with how the way he shivered. The boy was breathes were fast and heavy as he effortlessly tried to push the taller one away. Dusknoir smirked at that as he gently bit the teenager's ear, running fingers across perked up buds.

"You know, it makes me sad that as soon as is this night ends, I probably will never see you again," He muttered as he continued his actions. "I would like kill and torture you, but that's no fun, especially since you're quite the adorable specimen."

He chuckled. "Oh well. Might as well make this last."

Dusknoir's hands gripped the teen's pants. This caused Grovyle to freeze. No. No, no, no, no, no, _no_.

"S-Stop!" He protested, trying his best to shove the man off.

To his surprise, Dusknoir actually did stop his actions. Blinking back the few tears forming, Grovyle looked up, and felt immediate regret. Red eyes were glaring right into his soul.

"You want me stop?" Dusknoir asked, a hint of irritation in his voice. "You do realize what I am doing now does not _compare _to what I have done in the past. Do you know how many victims of torture I have taken? How many people have fallen prey to my pain?"

He grinned, fangs gleaming. " So you really wish to face the same thing they have? To face a long, painful, and _agonizing _end?"

Grovyle was about to reply but was cut off with a bruising kiss. He felt fangs scrap his lips as a clawed hand once again pinned his arms above his head. A tongue lapped up the blood that was bleeding from the greenette's lips. He moved downward, trailing kisses down the boy's chest, occasionally poking his tongue out. He brushed his tongue against pink buds, causing the teen to let out a moan mixed with a whimper. Dusknoir smirked as he moved back up, tenderly licking Grovyle's cheek.

"I really hate to disappoint you, but you have choice. You are going to submit," Dusknoir remarked. "And I will make you enjoy every single bit of it. If not, well, it looks like I _will _have to make you feel some pain."

Right before he could remove the teen's pants, he froze. A frown formed on his face as he released Grovyle. The teenager immediately collapsed to ground; shivering, tears forming, panting heavily.

"It appears time is almost up. What a shame," Dusknoir said. "I should have approached you earlier."

He grinned. "Heh. I would kill you, but again, I really don't wish to destroy such a nice participant."

He leaned down, lifting the boy's head up. "I hope we can meet again sometime. I highly doubt it will happen, though."

He gave the teen one last kiss before backing away, chuckling.

"Good game, sir. Good game."

And he was gone. The candle fell, black flame disappearing. Grovyle remained on the floor, shaking, still in shock. He slowly wobbled up to his feet and went over to turn on the lights in his house. He looked at the time. 3:33AM. Grovyle sighed.

"I need some sleep."

* * *

"Holy crap, you did it?!" Wigglytuff gasped.

Grovyle rubbed his head. "Y-Yeah."

Skuntank snickered. "Dude. You got some serious balls."

"So how was it?" Celebi asked.

Grovyle froze. Images from the incident flashed in his mind, causing his entire body to quake. The others apparently noticed this.

"If you don't want to tell us, then so be it." Chatot stated.

The green-haired teen blinked, letting out a sigh. "O-Okay."

He got up from the lunch table. "I-I'm going to the bathroom. Be back in a jiff."

He could tell his friends were concerned, but it didn't matter to him. He looked at his reflection, frowning. His hair was a complete mess and his eyes had a tired look. He growled, rubbing his eyes as he tried to ignore his—

No way. No _fucking _way. He looked back at the mirror, seeing a shadowy figure behind him. And the figure had _red eyes_.  
No. No, no, no, no, _no, no, no,no, no, NO!_

He bolted out of there, hastely returning to the table.

"G-Grovyle? What's wrong?!" Celebi cried.

"N-Nothing..." Grovyle muttered, trying his best not to show his fear.

His friends looked at him with concern. It looked like they were all going to ask for reassurance and Grovyle knew it.

"Still a little off after playing the Midnight Man." _Very off. _"But other than, that, I'm gonna be fine."

Grovyle laughed. "I promise. I'm going to be fine. Cause after this, I'm not doing any more fucked up rituals."

He smiled, his mind returning back to what happened in the bathroom. That shadowy figure _had _to be Dusknoir. Those red eyes... Those frightening red eyes. He remembered them clearly. He didn't want to believe, but Grovyle knew that what he saw in the bathroom was Dusknoir. The spirit did say they would never encounter again. And Grovyle hoped that what Dusknoir said was true.

* * *

**A/N: Good lord. I created this oneshot all he way back in June and I finally finished it. GOOD FREAKING LORD. **

**Anyway... Sorry for any OOCness, awkward formatting, bad title, and the ending. I just really wanted to finish this.**

**But seriously. Don't try the Midnight Man. I don't know if it's real or not, but I'm certainly not gonna find out and the same should go for you.**


	2. Extra Part

**A/N: I did a thing.**  
**Warnings: Language, trauma, stalking, implied dubcon, one-sided demonc!DusknoirxGrovyle.**  
**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**  
**Other: pls send help i'm a messed up person and don't play the midnight man**

* * *

_Hands were running up and down, all over his body. A cold breathe ghosted over his neck as fangs scraped his skin. Lips smashed against his own. His attacker was taunting him, sliding a hand beneath the shorter man's shirt as the other tugged his pants off. He flinched, slighting moaning as claws left marks on his hips. He shivered as bitemarks were left all over his body._

_There was cold harsh laughter._

_He felt his boxers being slipped off._

_Red eyes were staring into his soul._

Grovyle yelped as he fell off his bed. Groaning, he slowly sat up, blinking a couple of times. He stayed there, unhinged; thinking about his..._nightmare_.It felt too real. Every touch and sound seemed too realistic to be a bad dream. And the one thing he remembered was those blood red eyes.

He sighed, wobbling to his feet. "D-Damn it..."

Slipping some clothes on, he hopped on his bike and went to meet up with his friends.

* * *

"Are you sure you're okay?" Celebi asked quietly.

"'Course he's not okay, he looks like shit," Skuntank snapped.

Chatot frowned. "You're not really helping."

Grovyle simply chuckled. Brushing some bangs away, he smirked. "I get it. I look terrible, I probably shouldn't have played the game, Wigglytuff was stupid for telling me, yada, yada."

He propped his elbow on the table and rested his chin on his hand, trying to fight off sleep. His gaze fell on his friends. He noticed the concerned looks on their faces, causing some guilt to swarm around him.

"I-I'm fine, really," He reassured despite knowing that his friends aren't going to buy it.

Celebi sighed. "Grovyle, please. You have to tell us-"

She tried reaching out, but froze when she saw her friend tense and retract. She scanned the responses the others had. Judging by the expressions, she knew they were all thinking the same thing. This was bad. Very bad. They know Grovyle had two responses to being touched by his friends; accepting it or slapping them away. He never shrunk back, he never looked... afraid. It was peculiar. And shocking. In fact, looking at him now, Celebi began to notice more details that hinted that something was off about her friend. His hair was unusually messy, strands sticking out everywhere. The tired look in his eyes was still present. Looking a bit closer, she noted the markings on his neck. It finally hit her.

She got up, and announced, "I've got places to be. Later."

_I need to tell the others._

* * *

"So you noticed it, too, Pinky?" Skuntank asked, plopping himself on a nearby park bench.

Celebi nodded. "I don't know why he won't tell us, but something is up. If only I knew what."

"Th-The Midnight Man," Wigglytuff said quietly.

"...You on crack right now?" Skuntank questioned. "Cause this ain't the time to be joking."

"I-It has to relate to the Midnight Man," Wigglytuff explained. "I mean, he's been acting like this ever since he told us he played the game. I-It's my fault..."

"Wha-? No!" Chatot cried. "It's not your fault!"

"And it wouldn't matter even if it was your fault," Celebi snapped. "All that matters is that we find out what's going on."

She brushed some bangs away. "This has been going on for weeks. It's silly."

_"I'm fine, really."_

_"Seriously guys, I'm cool."_

_"I don't look that off!"_

_"S-Sorry for yelling... I-I'll... Yeah.."_

"Yes. It is quite odd," Chatot remarked. "I tried giving him a pat on the back and he flinched!"

"I wanted to give him a high-five but he instead tensed and backed away," Skuntank added.

"Not to mention he's been acting very distant..." Wigglytuff muttered.

Celebi sighed. "Yeah. I seriously wish he'd tell us."

* * *

He swore he could hear his voice.

_**"Do you miss me?"**_

He prays that it's just his imagination.

_**"You miss my touch...?"**_

This _can't _be real. It's not real.

Not. Real.

The greenette growled as he sat up in his bed. "Fuck."

He ran his fingers through his hair, cursing. "Shut the fuck up."

_**"Oh. Sorry."**_

"AND GET OUT OF MY HEAD! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

To Grovyle's surprise, the voice actually stopped. Sighing, he trudged to the bathroom and quickly washed his face before hopping outside for a walk. He was swaying, though not enough to lose his balance. He had to admit, the walk was making thing a little bit better. It felt nice to go outside and feel safe, surrounded by people throwing smiles and waves. Until it felt like he was being followed. Once in a while, Grovyle would glance around and see a familiar shadowy figure. He kept shrugging it off, calling it his paranoia. However, the figure proved to be persistent. Grovyle would pass by the shadow, hear that _god damn voice _call out to him. He immediately rushed back home.

Plopping on his bed, he screamed into his pillow, ignoring the tears staining the cloth. After a while, his body relaxed, and he drifted off into sleep, not paying attention to his phone ringing.

* * *

_He let out a cry as he was pinned to the floor, fangs sinking into his neck. Claws trailed all up and down, all over his body. He shivered as a hot breathe ghosted over his ear, whispering cold words. It seemed to go on forever. He whimpered with every movement and touch made. He clawed at the floor, body twisting as light and harsh touches were placed. Scarlet orbs were staring right at him._

Waking up, Grovyle instantly looked at the time. Almost twelve. Was he really asleep for that long? He narrowed his eyes.

"I have to do this."

* * *

"You play my game only to create the salt circle? Shame!" Dusknoir snapped.

Grovyle only frowned. "Why are you following me?"

Dusknoir blinked. "Following you? Please. I never stalk my victims after the game. Must be your paranoia."

"SHUT UP!"

The paranormal being only sighed. He floated up to the teen who only flinched, shrinking back. He sat down, hugging his knees. Seeing this, Dusknoir shook his head. He decided to join the college student, and sat down. Well, he was siting criss-cross while floating an inch or two of the ground, but he still remained in a calm position.

"As I said before, I am not persistent. If the player survives, that's the end. I leave them alone. The only thing I leave behind is the fear, the horrible memories. Thus, I am not following you, love," Dusknoir explained. "As beautiful as you are, I would not go against my code to get you. The fear and horrors you faced when you encountered me is what's pestering you. Not me."

"You fucking liar!" Grovyle hissed, standing up. "That can't be true! I see you nearly everywhere! You haunt my dreams and... A-And..."

He crumpled down. "Wh-Why won't you leave me alone?!"

Dusknoir tilted his head. He closed his eyes, inhaling and exhaling a couple of times.

He stood up. "Is this why you're playing this tonight? To interrogate me?"

Grovyle nodded.

"Well, I've given you all I can say. I am not persuing you. Even if I was, I would have killed you by now."

Grovyle blinked, looking up the paranormal man. "What?"

"If I were truly stalking you, you would be dead by now," Dusknoir said. "But here you are. Questioning me. And no, I am not playing some mindgames with you, dear. What I say is true."

He smirked. "Just be glad you're in that salt circle. If you weren't, I would have ravished and killed you."

"G-Good to know," Grovyle muttered.

"Now then. I'll be leaving. But I recommend you stay in that circle. Sleep in there, don't exit. If you do, I will surely return," Dusknoir remarked. "Well... Goodbye, dear."

And with a snap of a finger, he disappeared.

Grovyle sighed as he curled up into a ball. "I am so confused."

* * *

Grovyle was shocked to wake up without screaming or sobbing. He didn't even have a nighmare. Odd.

When he met up with his friends, they swarmed him with questions about the Midnight Man. Of course, he mentioned nothing of what happened. However, he explained that he was now over it. They didn't buy it, but he didn't mind.

But still. Grovyle found it peculiar that the sudden nightmares and illusions appeared to have ceased completely. He wondered if what Dusknoir said was true and his mind managed to comprehend that and get over things. At the same time, he considered that the paranormal man gave up and is finally leaving him alone. Either way, Grovyle is just relieved for it to be over.

* * *

"So you finally left your little crush. How sweet," The imp-like man smirked.

Dusknoir frowned. "Silence, Sableye."

"Okay, okay. Sorry. I'm surprised. Usually you don't give up so easily. Most of the time you torture them to near insanity. Why'd you stop?" Sableye questioned.

"He surprised me. He lasted quite a while and even approached me about it," Dusknoir explained. "The last one is worth mentioning. He is not only quite adorable, he is also has the audacity to summon me again. All for some interrogation."

He chuckled. "Ah... He was quite the specimen."

"So you stopped because he was brave and cute?" Sableye frowned.

"Yes," Dusknoir smiled.

"What are you going to do if he tries to summon you again?" The imp asked.

"I'll leave him alone. Simple as that," Dusknoir replied. "After all, he has bested me. He won my game. I'll reward him greatly. I'll no longer bother him. Because, to be honest, I really can't handle torturing such a nice creature."

He laughed. "I wished I congratulated him earlier but oh well. He played a good game."

* * *

**A/N: I just felt like expanding this story. I'm not gonna add anymore so yeah. Sorry if it was boring.**


End file.
